Bending Tournament
by The Quenchiest
Summary: The Gaang decides to hold a bending tournament among themselves. First up is Toph vs. Katara! Somehow, Aang ends up getting involved and Kataang ensues.


"Alriiight! If the contestants are ready, then the highly prestigious and anticipated Bending Tournament will begin shortly!" Aang, standing roughly in the middle of the many spans that separated Katara and Toph, punctuated the sentence with one of his trademark ear to ear grins. "The renowned referee, Sokka Watertribe, will officiate! Our contestants," continued Aang, spreading his arms wide, "are the skillful Katara Watertribe and Toph Beifong! The venue is the wonderful… uh… field! Oh yeah, and river, I guess. " It was true. The site that had been selected for the battle was a grassy field straddling an unusually calm river.

"Aang, can you just start the battle already?" Sokka whined from atop the wide pillar of rock he stood on, out of the way of any action.

"Of course, Sokka Watertribe. But just one quick thing-"

"No, no more things." yapped Sokka. "LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" he cried. Aang shrugged, looking a little disappointed. Combining a quick jump with a twist of his torso and arms, he propelled himself up into the air, and then slowly glided down to stand next to Sokka on the rock pillar.

"Aww man," Aang complained.

"Shh, look," Sokka held a finger to his lips, whispering melodramatically. "It's starting."

A few puffy white clouds drifted across the azure sky, and a slight wind rolled through the flattened, short grass of the field, eventually reaching the sloping hills that were far off in Toph's direction. Behind Katara, the still water of the winding river glinted in the sunlight. Aang and Sokka scanned the scene below them attentively, impatient for the action to start. They didn't have to wait for long.

It began when Katara, bearing a face of grim determination, drew water from the river behind her. She encased both of her arms in large tendrils of water, took a fierce look at Toph, and then began speeding her way towards her by skidding along on a trail of ice. Seemingly oblivious to the intimidating prospect approaching her, Toph smirked, merely holding her hands behind her back.

"You ready, Sugarqueen?"

"Oh you bet I'm ready!" was Katara's fierce reply. "Hyah!"

As she sped by Toph, Katara used some of the water from her left arm to send several jagged strips of ice flying towards Toph, all at a slightly downward angle. If Toph hadn't quickly raised a wall of earth, she would have been pinned to the ground by her own clothes.

"Nice try, Sugarqueen, but you're going to have to do a little better than that." Katara whizzed by as her daggers of ice thudded into earth.

Appearing as if she was walking in place for a moment, Toph kneaded her feet into the ground. A rolling mixture of rock and dirt bulged up from the earth, and Toph rode on it as a surfer would a wave. Through the vibrations in the earth, she could sense Katara turning back around to face her head-on. With a grunt, Toph jumped and drove her feet into the mound of earth, which briefly bulged inward. Suddenly, the neat, green field was transformed into an ocean of rolling earth. Huge waves of dirt had begun to spread out from Toph like ripples in a pond. This was no matter to Katara, though. Unfazed, she continued to speed along on her path of ice. After all, she wasn't actually standing on the ground. Toph continued to send shockwaves through the earth, and Katara continued to skid around on ice, looking for an opportunity to attack. Enough time passed that water surrounding Katara's arms began to recede; this was when Katara knew she couldn't rely on her ice for long.

 _The river! If I can just get to the river…_ Katara thought desperately, and flung herself off of the path of ice with as much force she could muster. Unfortunately for Katara, the river was a few meters too far to reach. She closed her eyes in anticipation for a collision with the tumbling earth, waited, and sure enough, came crashing into… a gust of air? A stray current of wind whisked Katara along so that she was above the river. Quickly adapting to the situation, Katara raised an arm, and a swell of water caught her and brought her down into the river. She was now waist deep in water.

 _Was that… Aang?_

Katara brushed off the fleeting thought. She had a battle to win, after all. A sweep of her right arm across her body directed a swirling rush of water at Toph, still riding around on her mound of earth. Unable to 'see' the water, Toph was caught off guard and sucked into the swirling current. With a flick of Katara's hands, the rushing spray became a globular blob. Katara guided the water, and Toph with it, all the way over and up to Sokka's pillar, where she released the earthbender. The sound of wet Toph hitting rock was followed by a _splash_.

"There! I think we have a winner," called Katara, still back in the river.

"Yes, we do! Katara Watertribe is the official winner of the Bending Tournament, Round One!" said Sokka, summoning his best announcer voice.

"Blech," spat Toph, and a live fish, flapping and flopping, fell out of her mouth. Sokka stood with a dropped jaw and wide eyes as Aang, standing next to Sokka, quickly bent the fish into a ball of water.

"How'd that happen!?" yelped Sokka, as Aang returned the fish, in its ball of water, to the river.

"Doesn't matter." Aang said brusquely. He stomped his foot, and the rock pillar slid into the earth so that its top was level with the ground. Leaving Sokka and Toph behind, Aang walked over to Katara, who had emerged from the river and was just finishing squeezing the water out of her hair.

"You looked great out there, Katara."

With a blush, Katara replied. "Thanks, Aang. I got a little lucky, though. When I made that jump, I was sure I wasn't going to make it to the river."

"Heh heh… yeah. About that…" started Aang,

"Yes, Aang?"

"Well, you know… You probably felt the air… I… kinda…"

"I figured it was you." Katara smiled. "Don't worry, Aang. It'll be our secret." She planted a quick kiss on Aang's cheek, leaving behind a furious blush.

"Now I get to play you next," grinned Aang. He pecked Katara on the lips, and walked away, laughing softly. Katara stood frozen in her spot, reddening furiously. After awhile, she smiled.

"Good luck, Aang. You'll need it."


End file.
